ROLLERS FOR VACUUM CLEANERS

A roller for a vacuum cleaner comprises an interior roller body which comprises a resiliently deformable region 42 and an exterior abrasion-resistant skin 43 which surrounds the interior roller body. The exterior abrasion-resistant skin may have a thickness from about 100μm to about 400μm and is preferably non-porous, it may be formed from an abrasion-resistant polymeric material such as thermoplastic polyurethane. The resiliently deformable region may be porous and is preferably formed from a closed-cell foam such as flexible polyurethane foam. A method of manufacturing a roller for a vacuum cleaner is also disclosed, the method comprises forming an interior roller body having a resiliently deformable region and forming an exterior abrasion-resistant skin which surrounds the interior roller body. The method may include forming the interior roller body within a preformed sheath, the preformed sheath corresponding to the exterior abrasion-resistant skin and injecting polymeric foam or precursors for polymeric foam into the preformed sheath, the polymeric foam forming the resiliently deformable region. Alternatively, the method includes forming the interior roller body and subsequently forming the exterior abrasion-resistant skin around the interior roller body.